Driver from crash remains in hospital

November 12, 2013

A man remained hospitalized Tuesday following an accident involving a Cape Coral motorist.

Shannon Omar Mitchell, 27, of Orlando, was listed in critical condition at Lee Memorial Hospital, where he was transported Wednesday following the accident on US 41, according to officials.

At about 2:59 p.m., a Florida Highway Patrol trooper attempted to initiate a traffic stop on a northbound Chevrolet Cavalier in the area of Broadway for illegally tinted windows. The driver of vehicle failed to stop, fleeing northbound at a high rate of speed, according to FHP officials.

As the vehicle fled, the trooper discontinued the attempt to stop the Chevrolet.

Moments later, the driver of the vehicle lost control and crossed over the raised median of US 41. The Chevrolet overturned onto the southbound lanes of 41 and struck the front of a Toyota Tacoma.

Officials reported that the vehicle came to a stop just south of Sanibel Boulevard.

The sole passenger in the Chevrolet, Kyla Dion Nesmith, 40, of Fort Myers, was dead on scene.

The driver, identified as Mitchell, was taken to the hospital with critical injuries.

The driver of the Toyota, Paul Robert Jenkins, 42, of the Cape, sustained minor injuries.

He was transported to Gulf Coast Hospital, where he was treated and released.